Joker's Wild
"Joker's Wild" is the forty-second episode of . It originally aired on November 19, 1992. Plot reveals his newest casino's theme.]] An argument over the TV erupts in the rec room of Arkham Asylum between Poison Ivy and the Joker. The nearest guard, Irving, breaks it up and changes the channel at random, hitting on a news report about the opening of billionaire Cameron Kaiser's latest luxury casino outside Gotham City. The theme of the casino has been a carefully kept secret. Kaiser snips the ribbon, and everyone is shocked to see the new casino dubbed "Joker's Wild," complete with a laughing effigy of Joker's head on top. Kaiser laughs off the idea that he is honoring Joker, instead saying that he is paying tribute to the symbol's classic roots - "we can't help it if there's a passing resemblance to some criminal fruitcake..." at which an outraged Joker hurls Ivy's potted plant through the TV, shouting "How dare that smug, preening fool try to cash in on my image!" Joker fakes an illness to be taken to the infirmary, and quickly gives his guard the slip (although Irving is actually letting him go on purpose). He quickly escapes the asylum and grabs a passing truck. Bruce Wayne, a guest at the opening gala, quickly gives his date the push, and summons Alfred with a Batsuit. Bruce is suspicious of Kaiser's motives - despite his claim, the casino's resemblance to the Joker is all too obvious. Bruce looks beneath the decor of his room, and finds the Joker wallpaper hastily laid over a medieval theme. pulls one over on Joker winning at blackjack.]] Infiltrating Kaiser's office as Batman, he sees a model of the proposed casino, where the Joker's head has been slipped over a building labeled "Camelot." Then he examines Kaiser's private files and sees massive construction bills for the casino, and a dossier on Joker. He is interrupted by Irving (actually one of Kaiser's security guards), who attacks him. Batman easily gives him the slip. Joker enters the casino, where he is mistaken for a dealer (they are all dressed as him). On a whim, he decides to spend a little time dealing at the blackjack tables. After he wins several rounds in a row, his players leave in disgust, but then Bruce happens by. To test whether it is really Joker, Bruce drops some casual comments about not liking the decor - "I'd be ready for the laughing academy if I had to stare at that ugly clown all day" - and to top things off, wins the round with a little sleight of hand. Joker can barely restrain his rage, giving himself away. Bruce slips out of the casino and is back almost instantly as Batman. But he grabs the wrong dealer at first, giving himself away and allowing Joker to run. He disappears into the crowd and grabs a Joker-themed roadster parked in the casino, driving it into a crash and disappearing. Kaiser watches on the video cameras as Joker rigs the basement of the casino with explosives. He prepares to leave, but Batman appears and confronts him. He's figured out that Kaiser bankrupted himself building his "Camelot" casino, so he altered it to invite the Joker's wrath, and allowing him to collect the insurance when it is destroyed. Kaiser admits it - then disables Batman with an electric device hidden in his desk. He calls Irving and another thug, and tells them to send Batman down to the basement. As soon as he arrives, Joker knocks him out. Batman comes around strapped to a giant roulette wheel, which Joker has rigged to detonate the explosives. Batman explains that Kaiser is playing him for a fool, and Joker is outraged. With a change of plans, Joker disconnects the explosives and resolves to catch up with Kaiser before he flees the casino. Before leaving, however, he spins the wheel, and tosses a grenade onto it. Batman manages to escape the trap by shooting the grenade away with his grapple gun. finds himself out-voted by his fellow arkhamites.]] Kaiser rushes to the helipad and boards his personal helicopter, which lifts off, then stops. Joker reveals himself to be piloting the chopper. He frankly congratulates Kaiser for the deviousness of his plot, then announces that he plans to kill Kaiser and run the casino from behind the scenes. They are interrupted by Batman, flying after the chopper in his Bat-Glider. Joker fires his pistol, which damages the glider, but Batman manages to grab the chopper. As he wrestles with Joker, the chopper dives toward the casino, and crashes through the front doors. Joker tries to run, but Batman floors him with a well-aimed kick, sending him crashing into a slot machine, which jackpots and covers him with quarters. Joker is returned to Arkham, where he watches Summer Gleeson's news report on his own arrest and Kaiser's downfall. He disgustedly changes the channel, but it's now three against one - Ivy, Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow. He changes the channel back, and mutters to himself. Continuity * As Batman flips through the files on Kaiser's desk, it states the Joker's real name is Jack Napier. This is the second episode to do so (the first being "Dreams in Darkness"). Jack Napier was used for the 1989 Batman film as the real name of the Joker (Jack Nicholson); during the , corporate execs sought a style similar to the movies (also in Catwoman and Penguin's appearances). In , any such influences were gone, and in "Beware the Creeper", Jack Napier was revealed to be one of many aliases. Background Information Home Video Releases * * Batman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD) Production Notes * The animation for this episode was cited by Bruce Timm as being so bad that the production team would no longer work with AKOM. Production Inconsistencies *When Batman aims a flashlight at a particular area on Kaiser's desk, there is nothing. In the next frame, there are two folders. * When Joker starts his car, which is on display at the casino, he removes a placard which is supposed to say "WIN THE ORIGINAL JOKERMOBILE," but because of the unfamiliarity with English script of the Japanese animators, it says, "WAN THE CIRIN GNAL JOKERNOCILE." * The dark circles around Joker's eyes disappear several times throughout the episode. * When Batman is tied to the giant roulette wheel, he takes his grapple out of his belt. However, the compartment that opens is bigger than physically possible. * When Bruce and Joker are playing blackjack, Bruce has a three of hearts (upside down) and a nine of diamonds when he looks at it. However, when he shows them, they are a three of hearts (right side up) and an eight of diamonds. Trivia * Joker changes the rec room TV channel to The David Letterman Show. * The episode of The David Letterman Show that Joker watches is later watched by the Parasite in the episode "Double Dose." * Kaiser's henchman Irving is voiced by Brion James, who would go on to voice the Parasite in . * Joker uses the line of Looney Tunes character Beaky Buzzard, "Oh, no, no, no. Don't want to." Cast Uncredited Appearances * Scarecrow * Mad Hatter Quotes Category:Batman: The Animated Series episodes